More Mary Bridge providers unionize. Nurses plan Tacoma picket in separate action
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- Mary Bridge advanced practice providers voted 97% to join UAPD, await certification.
- About 100 Mary Bridge physicians earlier organized with Northwest Medicine United.
- Nurses plan Jan. 23 picket over wages, staffing ratios and NICU safety concerns.
A group of pediatric healthcare providers at Multicare’s Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma have voted to unionize, while in a separate action nurses at the same hospital are gearing up for an informational picket.
The Union of American Physicians and Dentists on Jan. 15 announced that nearly 100 providers at the children’s hospital and clinic locations “voted with an overwhelming 97 percent majority support to join” UAPD.
The vote comes after a November action where the group, which includes nurse practitioners, physician assistants and optometrists, filed for union representation.
Separately In May, around 100 physicians with Mary Bridge voted to organize with Northwest Medicine United (formerly known as the Pacific Northwest Hospital Medicine Association).
The latest vote isn’t the first UAPD organizing effort involving providers with MultiCare. In 2016, providers at MultiCare’s Auburn Medical Center voted to join UAPD.
UAPD also represents primary care staff members with the health system’s Indigo Urgent Care centers.
“Our members at MultiCare want to build their careers here and develop lasting relationships with their patients,” Dr. Stuart Bussey, UAPD president, said in a statement. “By forming a union, they’re investing in the future of their patients’ care in their workplace. They’re not leaving the system, they’re staying and making sure they can do their best work.”
Following certification of the election results from the National Labor Relations Board, the group will move forward with contract negotiations with the Tacoma-based health system.
MultiCare said Friday in a response to The News Tribune about the union vote, “We respect the decision our advanced practice providers have made to choose union representation with UAPD. Our focus remains on providing exceptional, compassionate care for children and families.”
The system added, “Regardless of whether our employees are represented by a union or not, we continue creating a positive, sustainable workplace where caregivers can do their best work.”
Nurses heading to picket line
On Jan. 23, registered nurses at Tacoma General and Mary Bridge Neonatal Intensive Care Unit plan to picket outside Tacoma General at Martin Luther King Jr. Way and 5th Street in protest over their lack of progress in bargaining.
The Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA), which represents more than 1,100 registered nurses at Tacoma General and Mary Bridge, said in a release Jan. 16 that “cutting corners on safety hurts everyone in the long run.”
At issue is a battle over wages as well as nurse-to-patient ratios and staffing plans, particularly in the NICU.
“Babies in the NICU, for example, can get sick in a moment and nurses want to be sure they are not asked to care for more than three babies per nurse, as recommended by experts in neonatal care,” the release stated, fearing “worse outcomes” if nurses are pushed to take on more.
Also, according to WSNA’s release, “Nurses want to end the MultiCare practice of having clinical assistant nurse managers filling the role of a charge nurse. These managers are not part of the union contract and have different priorities.”
MultiCare on Friday in a statement referred to the anticipated picket as “common in union negotiations.”
“MultiCare Health System places high value on the contributions of our nurses at MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital and MultiCare Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital. We have been bargaining in good faith with both groups to reach a fair contract that supports a positive, equitable and economically sustainable workplace. We are offering competitive wages aligned the rest of our health system,” the health system said.
It noted that during the Jan. 23 picket, “The hospitals will remain open and fully staffed.
“We look forward to continuing to bargaining in good faith toward an agreement that will position both our team members and our hospitals for the future.”
The next bargaining session is scheduled ahead of the picket on Jan. 22.
Elsewhere, Teamsters Local 760 announced Saturday, Jan. 17, that its members who work at MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital were participating in an Unfair Labor Practice strike over their own contract issues. The health system completed its acquisition of Yakima Memorial and its clinics in January 2023.
Marcus Perry, a media representative for MultiCare, told The Yakima Herald-Republic in response to the action: “We respect their right to strike, but we believe that progress toward agreement happens at the bargaining table.”
UPDATE Feb. 10, 2026: The WSNA-represented nurses at Tacoma General and Mary Bridge ratified new contracts with MultiCare on Feb. 6, gaining average wage increases of 15.46% over three years, among other gains.
This story was originally published January 20, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
